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Open Science

Open Science aims to open up the research process, and therefore enhance research quality, integrity, inclusiveness, accountability and impact to society.

There are multiple definitions of Open Science: "Open science is the idea that scientific knowledge of all kinds should be openly shared as early as is practical in the discovery process." Michael Nielsen (2011). “Open science commonly refers to efforts to make the output of publicly funded research more widely accessible in digital format to the scientific community, the business sector, or society more generally … to promote long-term research as well as innovation.” OECD (2015). The overarching principle of Open Science is the sharing of scientific knowledge and progress with multiple actors, while preserving integrity, quality, intellectual property and ethical principles. .

Open Science is an umbrella term encompassing a multitude of aspects:

Open Access to publications

FAIR (Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, Reproducible) and Open Research Data and other outputs (software, tools, methods)

Reproducibility and Research Integrity

Public Engagement and Citizen Science

Open Science requires a systemic change through the whole research process, from setting priorities, hypothesis generation, data gathering and analysis, to publishing and evaluation. Its implementation involves revising current evaluation processes, implementing new training, developing new skills, ensuring resources and infrastructures, and developing new policies.

SOMMa embraces Open Science to make research more collaborative, reproducible, and accessible, and to engage all levels of an inquiring society. The institutes and centres are committed to share their scientific processes and results with other researchers, actors and citizens. They contribute to develop data repositories and infrastructure, policies, training and new skills, and they are all devoted to public engagement. Overall SOMMa believes that Open Science is necessary to accelerate scientific discovery and expand societal impact.

Open Science figures

50%
Open Access

About half the publications from SOMMa members are published in Open Access journals or placed in freely accessible repositories (data from 2016, 28 members)

53.8%
Open Access Policy

SOMMa members that have in place or endorsed Open Access policies for their publications